Grainger set to gain from slump August 11, 2010 Britain’s biggest residential landlord Grainger said yesterday it plans to cash in on the wilting housing market by buying up discount real estate. The firm, which has around £2.8bn of assets under management, bought £154.8m of properties in the past ten months, with a further £67.6m of buys in the pipeline. It sold 593 vacant [...]
Disney gets its fairytale ending with $1.3bn profit August 10, 2010 HIT movies like Toy Story 3 and higher advertising sales have lifted quarterly profit at Walt Disney by 40 per cent, the firm said yesterday. Pre-tax profit for the three months to 3 July rose to $1.3bn (£820m), from $954m a year ago, while revenue beat analyst forecasts by rising 16 per cent to $10bn. [...]
John Lewis sales accelerating August 13, 2010 RETAILER John Lewis said year-on-year department store sales accelerated last week, shrugging off fears that prospective tax rises and employment uncertainty would hit consumer spending. The employee-owned firm, traditionally seen as a bellwether of the UK retail sector but which has outperformed competitors for over a year, said sales at its 28 department stores and [...]
US defies China in currency row September 29, 2010 THE RISK of a global currency war escalated yesterday as the US passed a measure threatening trade with China in response to its efforts to keep the yuan undervalued. Politicians voted 348 to 79 in favour of a measure that would allow – but not require – the US Department of Commerce to assess levies [...]
Rok’s accounting woes halve profits August 17, 2010 ROK, the troubled building and maintenance group, posted a 50 per cent fall in first-half pre-tax profit and cut its dividend yesterday. The Exeter-based firm issued its second profit warning in four months last week after saying it had discovered “serious mismanagement” of contracts in its plumbing, heating and electrical business. The firm, one of [...]
United Carpets sees profit soar but slowdown looming August 9, 2010 UNITED Carpets’ pre-tax profits surged by 84.5 per cent to £1.1m in the year to 31 March. However, trading has weakened with like-for-like sales in carpets falling 2.6 per cent in the past 17 weeks. The retailer said it was affected by “the World Cup, the general election and subsequent Budget which together have made [...]
Walker to bid £1bn for food firm Iceland October 10, 2010 THE boss of frozen food chain Iceland is planning a £1bn takeover of the firm he founded four decades ago, although he faces a potential bid battle, it emerged yesterday. Malcolm Walker, who together with other managers owns about a quarter of the retailer, is thought to have offered to buy the remaining 76 per cent [...]
NAHB adds to fears of US housing slump July 19, 2010 FEARS of a double-dip in the US housing market grew yesterday after a key housing index slumped to a 15-month low and expectations of future sales were extremely weak The NAHB index, which measures sentiment on home building, slumped in July to 14 from a downwardly-revised 16 in June, indicating that demand for new homes [...]
Titus Mills can land Meehan and Fallon Racing Post Trophy October 21, 2010 kIEREN FALLON has had a solid season, but he is yet to ride a Group One winner since his return from suspension last year and the big races are the ones he desperately wants. However, things could change tomorrow at Doncaster as he has the perfect chance to round off the campaign with TITUS MILLS [...]
Banks and miners pull FTSE lower September 21, 2010 Britain’s leading shares faltered by yesterday’s close as investors lost their nerve ahead of news from the US Federal Reserve, with banks and miners the biggest fallers. The Fed appears set to debate pumping billions of dollars more into the sluggish US economy, but is likely to hold off any action while it takes further [...]